Cuban President addresses ALBA summit

In contrast to their positive attitude, Cuban President Raul Castro says the Copenhagen climate conference was a failure before it even started.

He has called on Latin American countries to unite over the issue of climate change.

Raul Castro, Cuban President, said, "It now seems that there will not be any verifiable or real agreement at the Copenhagen summit. The only thing that can be expected is some sort of political pronouncement. The countries of the ALBA commerce treaty should firmly defend a decisive position on this matter for the future of the human species."

Raul Castro made the remarks at Sunday's summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales were among the participating leaders.

Castro called for regional unity to tackle the global economic crisis, saying ALBA nations will soon adopt a new currency, the Sucre. He also condemned the Honduran elections and extended greetings to ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya's representative. The Cuban president then criticized the recent establishment of US bases in Colombia, calling the act "an aggression against all of Latin America and the Caribbean".

Cuba's President Raul Castro speaks at the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) summit meeting in Havana, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009.(AP Photo/Javier Galeano)